This exhibit is ONGOING through Feb. 27, 2010. Museum hours are Tuesday through Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday noon to 5 p.m.

The New Haven Museum announces the opening of a new exhibit, “East Shore Reflections,” a shining review of this neighborhood’s evolution from agrarian farm area, to seaside resort, to modern day family enclave and residential setting.

Treasure Books: Selections from the Caroline M. Hewins Collection of Children’s Literature, is an exhibition developed by guest curator Leonard Marcus, leading historian on American children’s books.  His highly acclaimed books include Golden Legacy: How Golden Books Won Children’s Hearts; Minders of Make-Believe; Margaret Wise Brown: Awakened by the Moon; Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom; and The Wand in the Word.  Caroline Hewins came to Hartford in 1875 as librarian of the Hartford Young Men’s Institute, the predecessor to Hartford Public Library.  She held this position for 50 years and earned a national reputation as an imaginative, spirited, and dedicated leader, especially well regarded for her library work with children.

Hartford History Center, 3rd Floor

December through May, Tuesday through Saturday, 1:00-5:00 p.m.

Opening Reception

Hartford History Center, 3rd Floor

Sunday, December 6, 2:00-4:00 p.m.

Creative Sound Workshops

The Creative Sound Workshops present the opportunity to approach the world of music in new ways.  Sound is used as a raw source; we as music makers will mold and twist this raw source as a sculpture might shape a lump of clay.

Series 1: Rotations - led by Benjamin J Mansavage Klein

The Rotations Series allows participants to interact with a variety of instruments, those familiar and unfamiliar, traditional and invented, all within one piece of music.  In this series, we will work with a number of compositions in which the participants are asked to move from one instrument to the next; only until every instrument has been played by every participant is a composition complete. New colors of sound will hopefully emerge as each participant contributes their own unique approach to each instrument.   Participants will be invited to submit their own strategies for rotation. All meetings are open to new involvement; participation in the initial informational meeting not mandatory.

Feb. 4, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM - Traditional Instruments

Pianos, violins, drums, and trombones will be found among a miscellaneous collection of instruments.  Both the familiar and unfamiliar, each participant will explore these instruments to create a patchwork of new timbres.

Feb. 25, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM - Found Objects and Invented Instruments

That instrument is made out of a potato!

Participants will interact with an     entirely new type of orchestra and invent for themselves how each instrument is played.

Mar. 4, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM - Digital Instruments

Participants will work with a collection of buttons, knobs, and switches to create a swirl of tweets and beeps.

Mar. 18, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM - Combination Rotations

In the final meeting, participant will be asked to submit their favorite instruments from previous sessions.  All participants will then have the opportunity to share performance on these instruments.

The Edwin Way Teale Lecture Series brings leading scholars and scientists to the University of Connecticut to present public lectures on nature and the environment. The lectures are open to the public and do not require registration. For additional information please call 860.486.4500 or visit http://doddcenter.uconn.edu/events/teale/teale.htm 

In its very first exhibition in the Pope Riddle house of artworks not from the founding family’s original collection, Hill-Stead Museum is proud to feature a special exhibition of quilts by Gee's Bend artists and other renowned quilters, including Hartford's own Ed Johnetta Miller. The exhibition is a component of Hartford’s Community Health Services’ Community Threads project, a city-wide arts movement involving Hartford Stage, Hill-Stead and select arts & culture organizations to create community quilts and to celebrate the culture of quilting. The museum will display a total of 5 quilts by African American women, ranging in date from 1900 to 2005. In a manner befitting both their function and the deeply personal context of their creation, the quilts are placed on the Pope family master suite and guest room beds.

Free tax assistance to households with annual incomes of $50,000.00 or less.  Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) assistance also is available.

2^nd Floor

Tuesdays, January 19 through April 13

Wednesdays, January 20 through April 14

Thursdays, January 21 through April 15

4:00-7:00 p.m. and

Saturdays, January 23 through April 10

10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

Call 211 Infoline or 860-695-6295 to make an appointment, or walk-in – first come, first served.

Appointments recommended.

Opening Reception: Thursday, February 18, 5:00-7:00 pm Jessica Schwind’s mixed media works synthesize animal and vegetal worlds into unexpected juxtapositions that express an existential view of the natural world. Animal imagery, as in “Pigeon,” are transformed to harmoniously dwell within the color infused realm of the backyard garden. Schwind writes that: “Cultivated Castaways” brings focus to the lives of creatures that are commonly regarded as nuisances or irritants in our culture. We sometimes celebrate the death of these creatures as a result of our victory to control nature. This exhibition attempts to highlight their existence as part of our interconnected eco system. Her works have been included in exhibitions at the Fresno Metropolitan Museum, (CA), Contemporary Art Center of Virginia, (VA) The Hudson River Museum, (NY), McDonough Museum, (OH) and The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, (CT). Images of other works and project series can be viewed at www.jessicaschwind.com. The Niche is located on the first floor of Founders Hall

Connecticut State Museum of Natural History and Connecticut Archaeology Center present

Winter Escapes & Adventures

The Natural History of Health, Mummy Dearest, Stem Cell Research, Special Tours, Ancient Technologies, The Anthropology of Drug Use, Behind the Scenes with MysteryQuest, Eighteenth Century Medicine, Stories in Stone, Scientific Illustration, Forensic DNA Analysis, and the Mysterious World of Lichens and Mosses are just a few of the program topics being offered this winter and spring by the Museum and Archaeology Center. Don’t miss out on exciting fieldtrips, workshops, family activities, field learning, and notable presentations this season.

For a full listing of programs and registration information, visit http://www.cac.uconn.edu/mnhcurrentcalendar.html or call 860.486.4460

The Connecticut State Museum of Natural History and Connecticut Archaeology Center are part the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at UConn

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Connecticut State Museum of Natural History & Connecticut Archaeology Ctr

Go “Big Red for the Arts” on Thursday February fourth at the Hartford Club. Try signature dishes from local chefs and sample fine wines, brews, and spirits from around the world. 

Enjoy a live auction and the chance to win spectacular prizes, with proceeds benefitting the Greater Hartford Arts Council’s United Arts Campaign, which supports more than 150 local arts and heritage organizations.

Reserve tickets by January 28th at www.LetsGoArts.org/BigRed or by alling 860-525-8629. 

This is an original Yale Peabody Museum exhibition that investigates West Nile virus and Lyme Disease. These two diseases are "vector-borne" -- that is, the pathogen is transmitted to humans by an arthropod, and in both cases a blood-sucking one! Giant models of a mosquito and a tick help explain the puzzle that is the transmission, detection and treatment of these diseases. The exhibition explores the differences between the viral and bacterial pathogens, when they arrived in Connecticut, and how our changing environment is increasing the incidence of both diseases. The exhibition is on view through April 25.

Ages 5 and up. Help us celebrate Black History Month.  Each day, we will share new facts about the lives and achievements of African Americans.

Blue Hills Branch

Mondays-Fridays, February 1-26, 3:30 p.m.

Park Branch

Thursday February 11 and 25, 3:30 p.m.

Ropkins Branch

Mondays-Fridays, February 1-26, 4:00 p.m.

Ages 4-6. Join us for story times that will build children’s interest in and understanding of visual arts. These activities are supported in part by the United Arts Council.

Downtown Library - Children’s Library

Wednesdays, February 10 and 17, 10:00 a.m. and Thursdays, February 4 and 25, 3:45 p.m.

Albany Branch

Tuesdays, February 2, 9, 16, and, 23, 10:00 am.

Camp Field Branch

Mondays, February 1, 8, and 22, 10:00 a.m.

Ropkins Branch

Tuesday, February 2, 9, 16, and 23, 10:00 a.m.

An abstract artist, Frederick Lynch uses repeated geometries and mathematical divisions to create patterns of branching, veining of leaves and molecular systems that explore a multitude of visual possibilities.

Love Center Ministry's Proceed Night in honor of burning our mortgage will be held on February 4, 2010 from 5pm to 9pm at TGI Friday's in Orange, CT. Please come out and celebrate with us! Twenty percent of your bill will be donated in honor of this event. We will be raffling off a ticket to Madea's Big Happy Family!

Pastors Bishop Frankie & Dr. Kim Carmichael

Love Center Deliverance Ministries

19 George Street

Hamden, CT 06515

(203) 772-4314

Pulp magazines were a popular form of leisure in America from the 1920's to the 1940's. Their covers were carefully designed with bold colors and dramatic compositions to seduce passers-by with a glimpse into the sensational stories within. This exhibition features over fifty oil paintings on which these flashy covers were based on.

Benton Hours:

Thursday & Friday 10AM-4:30PM

Saturday  & Sunday 1-4:30PM

The selection chosen for this exhibition is a combination of old works, and new, those that are familiar and those that are unfamiliar but are now part of the museum collections.

Benton Hours:

Thursday & Friday 10AM-4:30PM

Saturday  & Sunday 1-4:30PM

Aetna First Thursday takes place in Hartford’s Downtown neighborhoods and surrounding towns the first Thursday of every month. As always, there will be plenty of events taking place in and around Greater Hartford on Aetna First Thursday.  They range from day to night, are free or of moderate cost, and are either a short walk or drive from downtown Hartford. There is a lot to look forward to each and every month. For a full calendar of arts and entertainment events, please visit LetsGoArts.org/AFT or stop by the Greater Hartford Welcome Center at 45 Pratt Street.